This Week in AppleSox Baseball: Undefeated Road Trips, Historic Wins, and the Best Record in the League

Ten weeks in, and the ‘Sox show no signs of stopping. Nearing the end of the regular season, Wenatchee decided to have an action-packed road trip and put together one of their best stretches of the season. An undefeated road trip, historic milestones surpassed, and the best record in the West Coast League is just the beginning of this week in AppleSox baseball.

The week began and ended on the road, starting against Kelowna up north of the border. The last time the two teams faced off in Wenatchee it was a close affair, and Kelowna was the second-place team in the league.

This time around, things were not nearly as close. Wenatchee swept the Falcons in their home ballpark, beating them comfortably in each matchup. Game one was an arms-length blowout at 10-2, with Harry Pelzman tossing a stellar start and getting his second win of the season. Immediately after him, it was Chihiro Sato who came in and slammed the door in 3 ⅓ innings of flawless relief, picking up his first save of the year. Noah Fields shined offensively, slapping his first home run of the year early in the game.

Game two was slightly tighter, with Derek Render making his first start of the summer and tossing six innings of technically two-run baseball. A frenzy of errors put a blemish on Render’s outing, with blunders from Bryce Hampton, Kanoa Morisaki, Josiah Rodriguez, and two from Raphael Dunne. Those errors coughed up two unearned runs, giving the Falcons the only four runs of their night. The ‘Sox still managed to win 8-4, after Joe Schuyleman took the reins in the seventh and threw three innings of hitless and scoreless relief. The game was tied 4-4 going into the ninth, but the ‘Sox still delivered the go-ahead run and put on some insurance with a James Castagnola bases-clearing double.

In the sweep decider, Wenatchee clutched up. Colin Fraser took the mound for his very first start as an AppleSox, and he did not disappoint. The lefty spun six innings on the mound, allowing only six hits and just three runs. Then, it was Levi Grothen who tossed his best outing of the road trip to carry Wenatchee across the finish line 9-3 in the final game.

After handling the Falcons in those three games, the ‘Sox headed even further north to Kamloops. This series was a must-watch for AppleSox fans, and had history being made in each game.

For game one, it was Mitch Haythorn who hit an impressive career milestone. With seven strikeouts in the evening, Haythorn hit 100 career K’s on the dot. In just his second year as a ‘Sox, the Colorado kid has hit triple digits in the strikeout column. The game also featured Hampton getting his first home run as a ‘Sox with a go-ahead grand slam in the fourth inning. The matchup still came down to the wire, with Noah Sorensen giving up three runs in the ninth and just barely holding on for the 6-5 win.

In game two, Wenatchee set a new high-water mark for walks. Going into the affair, they needed eight walks to tie their record of 300 in a season. When it was all over, the ‘Sox had 13, giving them 305 and blowing their previous record out of the water. Plus, with numerous games still left in the season, they will continue to grow it every day. Wenatchee won the second game 12-3, in large part due to the 13 walks given up by Kamloops.

Teed up for the sweep in game three, the AppleSox took care of business. Noah Fields put the team on his back, going 3-for-5 with two doubles and two RBIs. Pitching was as phenomenal as always, with Vincent DeMarco spinning four scoreless innings to start and Joe Schuyleman slamming the door late to secure the sweep.

The 6-0 road trip officially gives Wenatchee the best record in the WCL and wins them the second-half championship. It truly was their best stretch of the entire season, and their first time going undefeated on a road trip this year.

However, the season is not over yet. The ‘Sox welcome the Victoria HarbourCats to the valley today for a three-game series right before the start of playoffs.

As the number one seed, the best team in the league, and the second half champions, the ‘Sox are just getting started. Everything is leading to the postseason, and safe to say the ‘Sox are itching to go on a run.